Ask Scotland national reference service.

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Ask Scotland Reference Services for a 21 st Century Audience Gillian Hanlon Senior Information Officer, SLIC

description

Gillian Hanlon's Ask Scotland presentation from the SLIC IDF conference 16 Nov 2010.

Transcript of Ask Scotland national reference service.

Page 1: Ask Scotland national reference service.

Ask ScotlandReference Services for a 21st Century Audience

Gillian HanlonSenior Information Officer, SLIC

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Ask Scotland: the aims

“...a collaborative national service that pools the staff and resources of Scotland’s library services to bring their knowledge and rich collections to a global audience.”

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Ask Scotland: the participants

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The Ask Scotland website

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Ask Scotland Chat

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The Ask Scotland Answerbase

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The bigger picture:Scotland’s Information Landscape

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Who uses Ask Scotland?

Key features• Accuracy over speed• Authoritative

information sources• Free from bias/opinion

posing as fact• Filling the Google Gap -

depths of collections• Helping users manage

information overload

Target user groups• Students• Academics• School pupils• Local history

researchers• Genealogists• Visitors to Scotland• The ex-pat community

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What kinds of questions are asked?

Why does Mickey Mouse have big

ears? What areas of Scotland have never spoken Gaelic as the

main language?

Between the Dutch and Portugal, who was the first to explore, and settle in, Africa?

Where can I find out about Jane Austen’s aunt who went to India to find

a husband?

Where can I find out about Jane Austen’s aunt who went to India to find

a husband?

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Marketing the service

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Future developments

• Developing the service and keeping up with technology

• Increasing participants and including new library services

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Contact

Gillian Hanlon, SLICE: [email protected]

Ask Scotland www.askscotland.org.uk

Follow us on twitter @Ask_Scotland